You probably didn’t know that the state of Oregon is the self-professed grass seed capital of the world. Grass, it turns out, is a fairly lucrative claim to fame, accounting for more than a billion dollars in economic activity each year in the state.

By Craig Andresen – The National Patriot and Right Side Patriots on cprworldwidemedia.net “There is a gun for roughly every man, woman, and child in America. So how can you, with a straight face, make the argument that more guns will make us safer? We know that states with the most gun laws tend to …

Per Capita Personal Income in Oregon

In 2016, Oregon had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $45,399. Oregon’s PCPI ranked 29th in the United States and was 92 percent of the national average, $49,246, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In Oregon, the 2016 PCPI increased by 2.4 percent from 2015, faster than the nationwide PCPI growth rate of 1.6 percent.

Per capita personal income also varies between states and counties, and by metro and nonmetro areas. A look at county numbers shows high variability in PCPI. In general, PCPI is higher in the Portland and Bend area and along the Columbia Gorge. Sherman County, a nonmetro area, actually had the highest PCPI in 2016 at $55,846.

The three major components of per capita personal income – net earnings; transfer receipts; and dividends, interest, and rent – make up different portions of counties’ PCPI. In general, counties with higher PCPI have a higher percentage of PCPI attributable to net earnings. Per capita net earnings made up 66.3 percent of PCPI in Washington County and 60.4 percent in Multnomah and Clackamas counties. In Malheur County, per capita net earnings made up just 24.6 percent of PCPI.

Areas with a higher concentration of older residents can show lower PCPI. In Oregon, Malheur County ($29,714) and Jefferson County ($32,670) had the lowest PCPI. The reason is that as people leave the labor force, they have likely passed their peak earning years, and therefore have less contribution to the net earnings component of personal income. Remember PCPI represents income, rather than wealth. Older residents may have substantial wealth, but not have as much relative income, unless it was income-generating investments that would show up in the “dividends, interest, and rent” portion of PCPI.

A scary video has emerged of a lion pawing the windowpane of its enclosure apparently to catch a toddler standing near by. The footage, shot at Oregon Zoo, USA in 2016, captures the moment the lion leaps at the young girl who is facing the other way. Visitors can be heard screaming with surprise as they witness the “attack”. According to the girl’s mother, zoo staff members told her her daughter’s outfit made her look like a piglet which might have triggered the lion’s behaviour.

In this Friday, Dec. 15, 2017 photo, a banner stretches across West 11 St. in Eugene, Ore. encouraging church attendance for Christmas. An atheist is demanding that city officials remove the banner that he believes is a violation of church and state.(Photo: Chris Pietsch / AP)

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A man has threatened to sue city officials in Eugene, Oregon, because of a Christmas banner that he believes is a violation of the separation of church and state.

The banner that stretches above a downtown street advises people to attend church this Christmas and celebrate Jesus Christ.

Rene Salm, a published atheist who lives in Eugene, told The Register-Guard on Tuesday that he has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union and is trying to find a lawyer.

“I feel like I’m being assaulted, telling me to go to church and celebrate Jesus,” said Salm, who has published books titled “NazarethGate” and “The Myth of Nazareth.” Other residents have raised similar complaints, the newspaper reports.

The city allows community groups and nonprofit organizations to install banners for up to three weeks to promote events. The city has designated three spots for street banners. The group or organization must submit a completed application and pay a $37.45 fee. It is responsible for installing and removing the banner.

Virgil Adams applied in July to hang the Christmas banner between Dec. 12 and Jan. 1, according to a copy of the application.

“He can go and get a permit and do what he wants,” Adams said of Salm. “It’s a free country.”

It’s the second year in a row that a Christmas banner has led to complaints in the city that’s home to the University of Oregon.

Councilor Betty Taylor raised the issue in February, noting at a council meeting that the banner displayed in December 2016 caused a stir.

Kathryn Brotherton, now Eugene’s acting city attorney, responded that the city can’t regulate the content of any banner if it makes the space available to the public, so long as the applicant complies with the program’s rules.

“A banner advertising an Easter service and a banner advertising a picnic at Alton Baker (Park) have the same ability to buy that spot and be posted there,” she said, according to a video of the meeting available online.

Taylor then asked if the city would permit a banner for an event in support of the Ku Klux Klan, and Brotherton answered yes.

This story originally appeared in the The Register-Guard news of Eugene, Ore.

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Oregon atheist wants Christmas banner removed

Man threatens to sue city over Christmas banner he believes is a violation of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause.

CORVALLIS – Jonathan Smith said all the right things Thursday at his introductory press conference as Oregon State’s new football coach.

“I’m very confident I’ve got what it takes,” Smith said. “A vision for what it needs to look like. I’ve lived it, I’ve coached it and now we need to go get it done.”

Now comes the hard part.

The football program Smith inherits is a long way from the 2000 Fiesta Bowl team he led as the starting quarterback during an 11-1 season that included a No. 4 final ranking in the Associated Press poll.

OSU completed one of the worst seasons in school history last Saturday with a 69-10 loss at Oregon in the Civil War. The Beavers finished 1-11 and failed to win a Pac-12 game.

Smith didn’t offer any catchy slogans.

“As a coach I’m gonna be authentic because that’s what I appreciated as a player,” said Smith, 38, who spent the last four years as offensive coordinator/quarterback coach at Washington.

Terms of Smith’s five-year contract are still to be finalized. It’s safe to assume that he will not follow in the footsteps of former OSU coach Gary Andersen, who walked away Oct. 9 midway through his third season.

Smith may have grown up in Southern California, but he has strong ties to Corvallis and the Northwest.

Smith arrived in Corvallis as a walk-on in 1997 under former coach Mike Riley, who gave him an opportunity. That opportunity translated into a co-Pac-12 championship under Dennis Erickson in 2000, which is one of the most revered teams in school history.

A four-year starter at OSU, Smith knows that it’s possible to win in Corvallis. After all, the Beavers were at the tail end of 28 consecutive non-winning seasons when he arrived.

Smith faces a daunting challenge. The Beavers are 7-29 the past three seasons with a 3-24 mark in conference play.

“I know what it looks like to transition, change a culture and win a championship as a coach and obviously as a player,” said Smith, who was on Chris Petersen’s staff at Washington that won the Pac-12 championship last season and advanced to the College Football Playoff.

Give Smith high marks for exuding a positive message out of the gate for what he called “my dream job in my dream town at my dream school.”

Corny? Sure, but you have to admire heartfelt sincerity.

OSU athletic director Scott Barnes said he was impressed with Smith during their first meeting in what ultimately was a six-week coaching search that began and ended with Smith.

“It didn’t hurt that Jonathan vividly provided a scenario about walking into a recruit’s home with a polished Pac-12 championship ring on and a recipe to get there again,” Barnes said.

Actually, it was a Pac-10 championship ring from the 2000 Fiesta Bowl season that Smith had on his finger at the press conference. He was the Offensive Player of the Game in the Beavers’ 41-9 rout of Notre Dame and has fond memories of that team.

It was a team known for its swagger.

“We definitely had some swagger, but I think we had some 20-odd penalties (in the Fiesta Bowl), so we’re not trying to bring that kind of swagger back,” Smith said with a chuckle.

That comment drew laughter from a packed room in the Valley Football Center Auditorium.

OSU president Ed Ray called Smith “the perfect person at the perfect time” to lead what will be a major rebuilding effort.

Andersen couldn’t get the job done after a successful rebuild job at Utah State, and he produced 19 wins in two seasons at Wisconsin before he took over at OSU.

So what makes Smith, who is a head coach for the first time, so different? Maybe his belief in what’s possible at OSU will resonate with players who don’t know what it feels like to win at this level.

Ultimately, it will come down to recruiting.

“I know how to sell this place in regards to recruiting,” Smith said.

He has yet to speak with OSU interim coach Cory Hall, who led the Beavers the last six games after Andersen’s departure, but plans to meet with Hall in the next few days.

Smith met with players Thursday morning before the press conference.

“Meeting him this morning and just seeing the passion he has for this place,” junior quarterback Jake Luton said. “Seeing the success that he’s had in his career is really impressive.”

Smith said he’s heard from many former teammates since Wednesday’s announcement, including Ken Simonton, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Marty Maurer from the Fiesta Bowl team, and left open the possibility that former Beavers could end up on his coaching staff.

He thanked former coaches Erickson, Riley and Petersen for helping prepare him for this opportunity. Erickson taught Smith “not to back down to anyone or any program in any way.”

That’s the kind of attitude that could help Smith return OSU to Pac-12 relevance, and perhaps a return to the national stage down the road.